Arizona weekly enterprise., 1887-08-06
FLORENCE AND THE CHA
 VALLEY.
What General ThOs. F. Wilson says about the Gila Valley and the Great Florence Canal Mesa City and VicInity-1he Titles Undisturbed.
(Tucson Star.)

1 Florence and along the Glla valley and examined the great irrigating canal, what do you think of that portion of ArizonaW said repI esentative of the Star to Gen eral Wilson yesterday.
 ''Yes l went up there last week with
 MT. D. $. Thomas, the president of the Florence Canal and Water Company At Casa Grande station we took team for Sacaton, having some business with Mr.
 Howard, the Indian agent there. We found that gentleman preparing to start east on thirty days leave of absence. He Is entitled to it this hot weather, hay ing dearly earned 1t by attention to bus mess. MT. Howard in casual way ex- plained to us the actual facts about the withdrawal of certain townships of pub lie lands from location near Mesa city, which has created considerable excite ment in that section.
 The facts are, said Mir. Howard, a number of Indians have locations in these townships which they have been in possession of and cultivated from time immemorial The intention is to get these Indians on the reservation proper, but in | the meantime their holdings should not | be disturbed There are not many of 1 on, some. years ago an order was issued by the president withdrawing the town ships in which the few Indian settlements are situated from location and settlement. l Tie registers office under MT. Daley fail | ed to observe this order of the president and it was very likely that the whites should get on the lands reserved tempor- arlly to the Indians Comm issioner of the General Land Office Sparks at the instance of the commissioner of Indian affairs directed MT Daley to respect the order of the president issued some years ago, The whites who have settled on lands not occupied by the Indian in these townships have not and will not be dis turbed. Even where whites and Indians are on the same quarter section there has not been and doubtless will not be any trouble, if the whites do not interfere with the first right of the Indians
 The talk about the unsettling the titles of the whites in these townships is all nonsense There was no such purpose on the part of the Indian bureau, the general land office or anybody else. It all originated in the imaginative brain of Mir. Daley. He is out of the land office ] official existence. The Mesa City people and other settlers Tn these townships are not disturbed over the matter, and have no cause to be. They and the Indians are getting along peaceably and they al- ways have and that is all there Is in it.
 "What did you see about the reserva- tion, are the Indians prosperous and in comfortable conditionP' Yes. We drove along the Gila valley for miles through the reservation. The Indians have some rich and productive lands. Several of the villages located on the masa which
 We drove through looked clean and healthy The Indians with their famil ies were generally in the river valley gathering in their crops. Under the management of Mr. Howard these In
 dians are becoming quite thrifty. They ..s-l. nl-.re than selfsustaining Of course they are not as actye and industrious Us the average ontidrsman, but they are doing remarkably well. They are far
 from being savages They have homes
 which are quite comfortable, and for In
 dians are remarkably industrious and
 thrifty and as peaceable and quiet as any
 in Arizona. Their progress is slow, but
 still they are advancing. We saw sever
 al of their teachers. They were bright, intelligent young ladies from the east
 competent to teach in any schools. The young Indians have every opportunity tc
 acquire a common school education, an6
 are profting by it to as great if not g greater extent than the children of the uneducated classes in the great cities ot , the east" "Did you examine the Flor. l hot, 1 b, IL
 will be let into itf'
 "Yes From Sacaton we followed
 the river to Austins store and thence tC Florence. It is beautiful, rich and p,o ductive valley. Florence is nestled il the most fertile part of it, and in anc
 around Florence are evidences of hel , civilization and solid comfort The peo pie of Florence are full of frontier win 5 and industry. They produce more thal
 they consume. They have done thi 5 with the old system of irrigation. Witt I the rev canal Florence is bound to boon and boom permanently. They have al | the natural requirements to make tn t section of country along the canal for tel = miles above Florence to the railwa, D twenty-siX miles distant, a perfect gar
 den. There is no section of greate
 extent in Arizona or even in the mos
 developed portions of southern Californi that has brighter future before it thal ! ] Florence and its vicinity. The peopl u of Florence are alive to their advantages J They are proud of their great canal an 7 well they may be. They are the kind o . people that will attract immigration t i 5i their section. They are hospitable an,
 cheerful. did not meet kicker o grumbler while there. They stand il
 with each other and up for each other il :, true western style.
 The canal is a. work of magnitude When finished the main line and branch T es will be over fifty miles in length = = It is constructed in the most substantia
 manner. At the bottom it is twenty-iv . feet wide. Its general course after leay . Ing tue river is along the mesa or secont . bank of the river towards the old ruin v v of the Casa Grande to point on tn . Southern Pacific railway not yet ike ! upon. Ten miles of the canal are prac - tically built and they are constructing ~ at the rate of more than mile week By the first of September the headgate ; which is costly and difficult piece ( u work. will be finished and the wate - turned into more than fifteen miles ( W | II ..o;,, l;.a Of +ba naDo1 Wban oo,~